HEARTS OF PALM -- open, re-intro!

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    ➤➣➤ The woman's cool green eyes panned over the camp's heart, searching. Paws tucked primly beneath her, she sat near the mouth of the warrior's den, calm exterior belying nothing of how quickly her heart was thudding inside her narrow chest. She'd just awoken from her fourth nightmare in a row, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't erase the deep claw marks her panic had left in the floor of her nest. Willownose couldn't abide by a messy nest, but neither did she want to reveal the depths of her recent night terrors to the rest of her denmates, so the dilute calico determined that the best course of action would be to try and find some detritus she could use to cover the scoring in the den floor. Perhaps a softer nest would help her sleep better, too.


    Clearing her throat, the woman turned her split face in the direction of her Clanmates. "If anyone would like to join me," she meowed gently, "I'm going to see if I can find some moss or something to line our nests. I've noticed a few are looking quite bare." Willownose didn't spend much time with her Clanmates, she had generally preferred in her youth to be alone, but as she was growing older, and her mother showed no signs of returning, the silver feline was coming to accept that she craved companionship. It was time she stepped up in this way, and actually started trying. It was time.


    Jack, be nimble

    Jack, be quick — tags

    The young boy's ears pricked at the sound of Willownose's voice, and he snapped his head around, bright eyes resting on the silver molly, his trademark smile immediately appearing on his face. "I'll come!" The dark russet tom had been sitting down, looking quite peaceful and relaxed, but he was quick to bounce to his paws, heading over to the she cat, his paws gliding across the ground as he reached her side. He didn't know Willownose very well - he wasn't sure if he had even ever spoken to her, but today was the day he started being friends with her! Well, hopefully, at least! Foxflame was determined to befriend as many cats as possible both inside and outside of ShadowClan. He hadn't made many yet, but there was plenty of time for him to pick up the pace and make plenty more.


    "this is about you."

    ➤➣➤ Willownose was pleased at Foxflame's near-immediate response to her request. A gentle smile alighted on her austere features, softening her normally inscrutable expression. The young warrior was unfamiliar to her, even though they were the same age. She cringed inwardly upon realizing this--yes, they must have been apprentices at the same time. Shared a den and everything. And yet, she had been so cold, so distant, so wrapped up in the loss of her mother that she was blind to her peers and to the world of the Clan beyond the immediate necessities of eating, sleeping, and training. She had to rectify her error, and Foxflame's eagerness to forage with her was a great place to start.


    "Wonderful," she responded, dipping her head to the russet warrior. "I thought we could look around the burnt sycamore, to see if there are some soft mosses and things to bring back. What do you say?" She didn't want to be pushy, but also didn't want to waste half the day wandering around. Willownose was trying, to be sure, but she couldn't try that hard. Not yet. But hopefully on this little trip she would have the opportunity to apologize to Foxflame for how she probably had treated him during their apprenticeship. Perhaps he would be her first friend.





    ⋆ WASPFANG ⋆



    There wasn't a whole lot going on in Waspfang's life. Seeing as the orange tabby tomcat was not the best at waking up in the morning and having the motivation to get on duties for the day, it was apparent that Waspfang did not have many friends as of yet. If he could only have the motivation to put himself out there without having the fear of being scolded for his decisions, maybe then he would have other cats to do things with.

    After having that embarrassing encounter with his brothers, Stagheart and Foxflame after waking up later than the rest of the Clan, Waspfang was hoping it wouldn't happen again. The next day happened about the same, minus Stagheart and Foxflame asking him to go hunting with him. Today, Waspfang had been curled up in his nest when he heard Willownose's voice ring out. Searching for moss, eh? That didn't seem like a task that Waspfang could flop and embarrass himself at. Lifting his body onto his paws, the orange tabby came out from the warriors' den and began padding closer to Willownose. Just as he looked up to caught a glimpse of her, he saw Foxflame had already offered to tag along.

    Late to the party, once again.

    Letting out a disappointed sigh, the timid warrior walked closer to his Clanmates.

    "W-would you mind if I came along with you two?"



    ⋆ tags ⋆ APPRENTICE(S): N/A ⋆ SHADOWCLAN ⋆ WARRIOR ⋆

    template by raytonkiwi




    "So I walk alone down the darkest roads"

    "The anthem of a bird with a broken wing" — Canarysong


    Canarysong's ears perked and she slipped over to approached the group "I'll join in too...if you'll have me" he dipped his head in greetings towards them. It'll be nice to get outside of camp and hang around her fellow warriors, though she didn't show any signs that she was eager to join them due to her normally calm personality she was still happy to be with them even if no smile appeared on her lips to show greetings or her paws held excitement in them. "If we get more to come, perhaps we could split up in groups of one or two and search a bit wider for moss?" she offered up to them.


    "I am who I say I am"

    "Speak" "Thoughts"

    ➤➣➤ At Canarysong's approach, Willownose exhaled a bit of breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. A proper group. That lifted some pressure, to be sure, and made this all a bit more manageable. "Of course, Waspfang, Canarysong," responded the blue-and-cream feline, dipping her head to the newcomer and senior warrior, offering a slight smile to the former as he seemed a little hesitant. "And yes, that's a great idea if anyone else decides to join us." She didn't mind waiting a few more moments to see if anyone else would jump in, but her paws were itching to move so that she could have something to do with them while she tried to talk to her Clanmates. Willownose had never been great at sitting and holding conversations.


    "Well, shall we?" she offered, rising to all four paws and gesturing with her tail toward the entrance. If anyone else wanted to come they could join the party before they got too far away from camp. She wasn't anticipating a long journey or extended absence, so even the younger Clan members would be welcome. But more than anything she just wanted to get moving so that she didn't have to sit with her thoughts any more.


    Had Stagheart known of this patrol earlier, he would've offered his services. Willownose was not someone he knew very well, so naturally the social butterfly hoped to change that, having seen the silvery femme often around camp these days as opposed to before. He would not ask what compelled her to make an appearance, however, having heard rumours regarding her mother that Stagheart figured were best to leave behind. It wasn't his business, that he knew for sure.


    The long-legged youth was swift to follow his own patrol back to camp, dried mud halfway up his limbs, clinging desperately to his tan and chocolate coloured pelt with some reeds as well as bits of moss tangled around his wrists. Navigating through the marshlands certainly proved to be a challenge these days, with their territory seemingly more flooded than it was before. The struggle was evident in the weariness of his pace, the exhaustion of his muscles as they naturally tensed up with each step forth. Now that they were back to camp, he would immediately get to cleaning himself, his only motivation being the nest that was waiting for him. Oh, how glorious his nap will be.


    As Stagheart sauntered through the camp entrance, he could not help but overhear the conversation that was taking place, nicked ears immediately perking up atop a well-shaped cranium. There was Willownose, with his brothers, and Canarysong too. "Need some moss? Here" he snorted jokingly after approaching the group, gesturing to the segments of moss stuck in between the thin fur of his supple coat. "Last night's thunderstorm has certainly made a mess of our territory. It's quite wet out there, so be careful you don't stumble into sinking mud"

    Jack, be nimble

    Jack, be quick — tags

    It seemed that quite a large group had shown up. The more the merrier, that was the way Foxflame saw it. The young male was incredibly sociable, and there was nothing he loved more than spending time with others, whether they were his Clanmates or cats from other Clans, although he hadn't really gotten to know anybody outside of ShadowClan yet.


    "Yesss, we should all go together!" Foxflame purred, laughing loudly as Stagheart gestured towards the moss stuck in his pelt. His bright amber eyes rested on each cat in turn, making sure that he had acknowledged all of them. Upon hearing his brother's warning regarding the aftermath of the thunderstorm, the handsome warrior turned to the rest of the group, raising his tail and announcing, "You all hear that? Beware of the sinking mud!" he laughed again, and perhaps his Clanmates would have been concerned that he wasn't taking his brother's warning seriously, before he turned to Stagheart, giving Stagheart a nod and a warm smile. "Thanks for warning us," he nudged Stagheart's shoulder affectionately. "We'll be careful."


    The dark russet warrior then bounded towards the camp exit, calling over his shoulder, "Come on then! We can split into pairs once we're outside!"


    "this is about you."




    ⋆ WASPFANG ⋆



    It was good being with other cats now that he wasn't sleeping in so late into the day. He also felt better having Canarysong joining them since her calm personality helped his nervous one relax a bit. The anxious warrior was nothing like his brothers, who seemed to reflect a humorous vibe to the Clan. Waspfang differed from them, but perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. He hoped to StarClan that his different personality was not a bad thing. Luckily, neither Foxflame or Stagheart seemed to mind as much. Giving Canarysong a gentle smile he mewed, "Oh, hello there, Canarysong." before turning his attention to Stagheart.

    "M-maybe you should quit rolling around in your moss, Stagheart." the orange tabby commented on his brother's moss-covered pelt. Waspfang did not intend this to come out in a joking manner, but the way he said it did sound like it was.



    ⋆ tags ⋆ APPRENTICE(S): N/A ⋆ SHADOWCLAN ⋆ WARRIOR ⋆

    template by raytonkiwi




    ➤➣➤ Willownose fought to keep her eyebrows from ascending even higher on her forehead at Foxflame's rambunctious enthusiasm, but even she had to admit that it was a little infectious. She felt a kind of weight lift from her heart as she followed him from the camp, shaking her head slightly. Who would have thought that she'd take such pleasure from being around such chipper individuals. "Thanks, Stagheart," she added smoothly as she padded past him, following his brother. "I'll keep an eye out."


    At Waspfang's jocular comment, she tilted her head slightly, not having taken him as a joking sort. He was right, though, there were bits of moss clinging to Stagheart's pelt. "If it's still there when we get back, Waspfang, we might need to help your brother out." A soft smile tugged at the edges of her lips, and she let out a small chuckle. "Although it's more than likely that we'll come back looking more rag-tag by far." Flicking her tail toward the entrance, she indicated that if Waspfang wanted to come with he should get moving. She liked the three brothers very much, and found their family dynamic to be quite amusing.


    "So, Foxflame, congratulations on your new apprentice," Willownose commented, catching up with the russet tomcat. "Oakpaw seems lovely." Willownose herself had never had an apprentice, and she wasn't sure how well she would do as a mentor, but she could tell from her short interactions with Foxflame that he would be a great, cheerful mentor for young Oakpaw.


    Jack, be nimble

    Jack, be quick — tags

    Foxflame beamed as Willownose congratulated him. Oakpaw was his first apprentice, so he hadn't had any experience before. He knew that some young cats would likely prefer an older, more experienced warrior as their mentor, but Oakpaw seemed happy enough with him. Foxflame felt as though he could do a pretty great job at mentoring her despite his young age - he was kind, eager, good at climbing trees, fighting, hunting... he had all of the skills that he needed besides experience. Hopefully he wouldn't let Oakpaw down - that was the last thing that he wanted.


    "Thank you!" he purred in response to the she cat. "I love her already, she's a really great apprentice, and I think she's going to be an amazing warrior!" and he meant that. Foxflame had great faith in Oakpaw - he believed that she was very capable, although he hadn't gotten a chance to note her strengths and weaknesses yet. Foxflame simply held a firm belief that any cat could be good at anything if they put their mind to it.


    Not wanting to make entire conversation about himself, the dark pelted warrior then asked Willownose, "Have you ever had an apprentice before? I don't think I've ever seen you with one, but maybe I just didn't notice," he laughed gently. Foxflame doubted that he would fail to notice, as he was a very observant cat, but he had been absent from the Clan for a little while. It felt appropriate to ask, anyway. "If you haven't," he added, "Do you think that you would ever want one?"


    "this is about you."